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CADERNOSAA
Cadernos de Arte e Antropologia, Vol. 8, n° 1/2019, pag. 59-76
Femininity and Fashion: How Women Experience Gender Role
Through their Dressing Practices
Marion Braizaz1
CERLIS, Paris, France
The aim of this article is to outline how the aesthetic experience of individuals
constitutes nowadays a way of “doing” gender for them (West and Fenstermaker,
2006). Using the results of a qualitative survey carried out in France between
2013 and 2014 (32 women, 28 men), we will focus on one type of aesthetic prac-
tices: the dress choices of women. Ever since their childhood, women are encour-
aged to think about the image they express themselves through their clothes. This
is why, their reflexivity on this subject is intense. After presenting the normative
precepts that frame feminine appearance today, after highlighting the impor-
tance of aesthetic gender norms that promote certain dressing practices and con-
demn others, we will bring forward the multiple ways of living their gender role
via their dressing practices of the women we met. Through their dressing choices,
women appropriate their bodies. Whether they are in a process of adequacy or
distance with the gendered beauty standards, their speeches and practices reveal
how the construction of a certain appearance via clothing (moving during their
life) is a central element of their identity building.
Keywords: body, dressing, women, gender, identity
1 Sociologist (Ph.D). CERLIS, Paris Descartes University, France. IRS, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Author’s contact: marionbraizaz@gmail.com.
60 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
Introduction
In all societies the body is ‘dressed’, and everywhere dress and
adornment play symbolic, communicative and aesthetic roles.
Dress is always ‘unspeakably meaningful. (Wilson 1987: 3)
Nowadays, the body is seen in western societies as something that has to be unique and
reflecting identity construction (Bromberger et al. 2005). According to social representations,
using their appearance, women and men have to express their singularity. However, this quest
of aesthetic authenticity is not an easy one in a society where there are strong body gender
norms (Braizaz 2018). In what ways do aesthetic practices could support singularity while
women and men are surrounded by clear and significant beauty standards? This was one of the
key questions from a qualitative survey conducted between 2013 and 2014 about the aesthetic
experience of individuals. The purpose of this survey was to study a subject that has been de-
nounced, criticized and judged for a long time, whether in the social world or in the academic
area, particularly in France and Europe. Indeed, it took a long time for the sociology of the
body to gain legitimacy as a credible research field. In fact, the body and the beauty practices
were ignored by sociologists for several years (Memmi and al. 2009). For this reason, it is only
in recent times that researchers have studied the intentionality of body practices (and there-
fore of aesthetic practices). At first, in France in particular (Boltanski 1971), for sociologists,
the “body” was only conceived as “a measurement or achieving instrument of the social order”
(Memmi and al. 2009: 13). Moreover, the prism of alienation has long been predominant in
the sociological analyzes (Wolf 1991). Individuals (and especially women) who engage them-
selves in aesthetic care would be considered as victims of gender asymmetry, media propaganda
and overbearing beauty industry. Besides, “feminist work on fashion has largely been critical
of fashion as a tool of male domination” (Brennan 2011). Nevertheless, in recent years, new
approaches emerged. First of all, beauty has been considered via the concept of an “aesthetic
capital” by certain researchers (Hakim 2010), that is to say as an act of rational consumption,
achieved in particular by women. More nuanced, another approach proposes on the one hand,
to give value to the relations of power which underlie certain aesthetic practices while not omit-
ting, on the other hand, to be interested in the individual subjective experiences of the men and
women concerned. Kathy Davis’s writings on cosmetic surgery patients in the Netherlands are
part of that approach. This researcher considers both surgery as “one of the concrete expressions
of women’s oppression” (Ghighi 2016: 82), while insisting on the non-passivity and “critical
awareness” of her interviewees (Davis 1995).
In the past decade, fashion studies have been a dynamic field (Kawamura 2018). More and
more fashion and dress scholars chose this kind of perspective, as evidenced by the title of the
book of M. E. Roach-Higgins, J. B. Eicher and K. K. P. Johnson: Dress and Identity (published
in 1995). Further example, in their collective work, A. M. Gonzalez and L. Bovone under-
lined the importance to consider “dressed body” as a “basic element of identity” (González et
Bovone 2012: 67) and dress choices as “personal narratives” for individuals (Ibid. 2012: 71).
“The objects we choose (such as clothes) are […] opportunities to place ourselves socially via a
situated practice, to communicate with the outer world our belonging or exclusion, or even our
ambivalence and instability” (Ibid. 2012: 71). Nowadays, the research orientation on capacities
to act of individuals through clothing, on development of agency via dressing practices is vigor-
Femininity and Fashion 61
ous. This may be demonstrated by taking a quick look at the vast literature exploring nowadays
dressing practices as resistance tools (Karimi 2018 ; Fortier 2017 ; Arthur 1993).
This comprehensive perspective is the one we have chosen in the aim of understanding
the aesthetic experience of individuals. Without denying the strength of the collective dimen-
sion of beauty norms, we had focused our sociological view on the subjective experiences, on
the „individuals’ practical capacities to act in situation” (Martuccelli 2010) in the construction
of their appearance. We oppose our approach to visions defending a rigid social determinism
of beauty practices: the latter, too reductive, cannot highlight the plurality of contemporary
aesthetic experiences. By adopting a comprehensive point of view on the aesthetic experience
of men and women, in line with the work of sociology of the individual, our ambition is to give
“(special) attention to the ordinary life of individuals, to their existences, their trials, to what
their behaviors meant for these individuals” (Martuccelli et Singly 2012: 11). Our desire is to
carefully describe the stories and aesthetic trajectories of individuals (in this article, especially
women), in order to outline their room for maneuver and reflexivity. In a society where the in-
tensification of the process of individualization constitutes a new interpretative key of the social
world, the first common thread on which our research is based is to predict that the relation-
ship that everyone develops with their body, appearance and look, is fundamental. Thus, we
join the authors for whom body has become - more intensely - in the course of the twentieth
century, a banner of personal identity (Giddens 2004), “the most striking sign of an individual-
ized self “ (Vigarello 2012: 192 ; Le Breton 2010). To us, the aesthetic experience of individu-
als, their quest of aesthetic singularity, constitute a central component in the context of their
identity construction. Thus, this article will be in line with the recent affirmation of Samantha
Brennan2: “Fashion mattered” (Brennan 2011).
And, if there is one dimension of social life for which “fashion mattered”, it is gender, as
many academics demonstrated it (Bard 2014)3. The body is one of the vectors (if is not the
most important one) through which we express, among other things, the gender facet of our
identity. And over the last few decades, changes in body gaze have had a significant impact on
how some individuals perceive and shape their appearance through the lens of gender (Butler
2006). Today “gendered socialization is not (or not any more) the imposition of habitus of gen-
der that would shape the subjectivity of all” (Macé 2010: 503). In this article, femininity will
be conceived as a “gender role” (we can even talk about an aesthetic gender role), echoing the
concept definition of “social role” by D. Martuccelli: “The role establishes a link between social
structures and the actor, linking patterns of behavior to different statuses or social positions,
thus ensuring the stability and predictability of interactions, as it signals the expected behavior
of individual depending on the place [here the gender] it occupies in a given social system”
(Martuccelli 2002: 141). The conceptualization of femininity with the theoretical tool of “role”
enables to study the aesthetic practices of women, as expression and construction tool of their
gender identity. The theoretical tool of “role” permits to not underestimate the importance of
the “gendered” normative framework of beauty (of the influence of valued femininity models),
while opening the analytical way to the study of the different “ways” of living one’s “aesthetic
gender role”. Indeed, it is, among other things, spaces and lability in the aesthetic achievement
of femininity that will be central in this article. This use of the concept of femininity as a “social
2 In this text, this scholar advocate how dress practices could be a political instrument to defend queer vis-
ibility.
3 As Elisabeth Wilson wrote it: “Fashion is obsessed with gender, defines and redefines the gender bounda-
ries” (Wilson 1987:117).
62 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
role”, an “aesthetic gender role”, allows to have a non-ideological view on aesthetic practices, to
get out of the usual tensions peculiar to this object of research (especially within the feminist
community4).
In this article, to study how the aesthetic experience constitutes a way of “doing” gender
for individuals (West et Fenstermaker 2006), we will focus on one type of aesthetic practices:
the women’s way of dressing5. According to Mary Ellen Roach-Higgins and Joanne B. Eicher,
dress is “an assemblage of modifications of the body and/or supplements to the body”. “Dress,
as defined, includes a long list of possible direct modifications of the body such as coiffed hair,
colored skin, pierced ears, and scented breath, as well as an equally long list of garments, jewel-
ry, accessories, and other category of items added to the body as supplements” (Roach-Higgins
and al. 1995: 7)6. From a very young age, women are encouraged to think about the image they
express of themselves through their clothes, jewelries, adornments, etc. (Guyard et Mardon
2010). This is why, their reflexivity on this subject is intense. First, we will explain, according to
our survey, what are the major issues that guide (or confuse) women throughout their “dressing
path”. We will highlight the importance of aesthetic gender norms that promote certain dress-
ing practices and condemn others. We will see how these gender norms are often related to the
women appearance regarded as “erotic” or “sexualized”. Then, in the second part, we will point
out the heterogeneity in the reception of these models of femininity by women. Through their
dressing choices, women appropriate their bodies. Whether they are in a process of adequacy
or distance with the gendered beauty standards, their speeches and practices reveal how the
construction of a certain appearance via clothing (moving during their life) is a central element
of their identity building. We will present a typology trying to reveal the diversity of women
stances about dress that we encounter during our survey. Each of these stances - these four ways
of living their gender role via their dressing practices - illustrate the struggle of women who
desire to build an appearance reflecting their singularity, their personal itinerary, in a society
where gendered beauty standards are still constraining.
Methodology
Our study was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews in which our main
theme was to highlight the modalities of the gendered aesthetic experience of individuals (costs,
benefits, experiences, strategies in relation to self and others). We met 32 women and 28 men,
aged 21 to 52, declaring themselves as a couple (hetero or homosexual) and living in France:
4 „The thesis is that fashion is oppressive, the antithesis is that we find it pleasurable. […] Either the products
of popular culture are the supports of a monolithic male ideology, or they are there to be enjoyed and justified. […]
While feminist with one voice condemn the consumerist poison of fashion, with another they praise the individu-
alism made possible with dress” (Wilson 1987: 233; 236)
5 “Only the name of an individual (where distinguished by gender) can compete with dress as an effective
social means for communicating the sex of an infant (or a person of any age)” (Marie Ellen Roach-Higgins and
Eicher 1993: 17).
6 In this article, we will – in most cases – prefer the term “dress” in line with the work of M. E. Roach-Higgins
and J.B. Eicher, because several terms proffered as alternates (appearance, adornment, apparel, clothing, costume)
“almost inevitably introduces personal or social value” or “impose restrictive value judgement regarding aesthetic
quality” which the term dress does not (Roach-Higgins and al. 1995: 9-10).
Femininity and Fashion 63
Paris (7), Ile-de-France (28), regions (25). A heterogeneity of social classes has been chosen7.
Respondents recruitment was essentially achieved by word of mouth (within our network of
interpersonal skills). This corpus was built gradually, and, at each interview, we tried to vary
the sociological characteristics of individuals, in particular in terms of social and cultural level.
Femininity is being watched
Socially, femininity is the norm from which it contemporaries,
men and women, judge that a woman is one. (Molinier 2006:
34)
Today, what are the aesthetic precepts and assignments that actively participate in the
way women manage their dressed bodies? By analyzing the discourses and practices of our
respondents, two inseparable normative facets surrounding the contemporary feminine ap-
pearance could be highlighted. They are characterized by the opposition between an “aesthetic
power” (to use one’s body as an asset in a society that values self’s image), and “injunctions
about restricting visibility” (controlling the limits of this power, notably the power of seduc-
tion). The combination of these two facets requires for women a long-term learning process.
Since their youngest age, women are subject to prescriptions altogether ambivalent. On the one
hand, they are encouraged to “work” on their beauty, to build a dressed body that is “adequate”
to their gender and thus, to acquire a whole range of aesthetic skills that can benefit them in
their daily lives. On the other hand, this gendered appearance - if it can represent a resource
in the context of certain interactions – is also regulated by strong constraints. Indeed, regard-
less of how times change, the standards of feminine beauty broadcast codes of conduct as to
what women can or cannot do with their own body. And in this regard, representations about
women’s sexuality have always been a central explanatory element for the social establishment
of aesthetic injunctions for women (Vigarello 2004; Sohn 2011). Our field investigation is no
exception here and the analysis that we will propose concerning the two normative facets of
the appearance of women (body “power” versus “constrained” body) will reveal the strong inter-
weaving between feminine beauty practices (in particular dressing choices) and representation
of women’s sexuality.
Without the eyes of others, “all men’s trade of sympathy or dislike, of intimacy or coldness,
would be reduced immeasurably,” wrote Simmel (Simmel 1981: 227). For sure, the visual power
is undeniable in a society that has experienced an exponential intensification of the social gaze
since the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, simultaneously, the idea of body work as a factor of
self-esteem is equally a strong value of our days. Taking care of one’s beauty for one’s own well-
being (and not to please others) have been a contemporary leitmotiv since the democratization
7 Three major social categories have been distinguished. Throughout this article, we will describe as “+SC”
individuals from well-to-do social classes with a high level of degree and income (9F, 11H). “MSC” (middle social
class) interviewees have a medium level of qualification and receive a net monthly salary of between EUR 1200
and EUR 2000 (10F, 8H). Finally, the people we will call “-SC” (working classes) do not have a secondary school
diploma or have a medium level of qualification and receive a net monthly income less than or equal to the French
minimum wage (13F, 9H).
64 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
of beauty cares in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (Vigarello 2004)8. In our survey, the
vigilance regarding the perceived self-image has been mentioned more widely in the speeches
of women respondents than in the speeches of men respondents. Moreover, women more often
evoked the distinction between their dress for the interior (of their houses) and their dress for
the outdoors (in the street, at work, etc.). Linda, one of our respondents, will even tell us that
it is essential for her “to be pleasant to watch”, a statement that appears (according to our inter-
views) unthinkable in a man’s mouth.
The goal is multiple. I think there is an objective of how others perceive me, the image that I want to send
back from me and I also think that there is a question of pleasure. For once, something more futile, all that
goes through the notion of pleasure. Yes that’s it. The self-image, the image that I send back. And there is
also a question of respect for others, of oneself too. (Virginia, 34, +SC)
The insistence of women is worthy to be highlighted. Pleasure to reflect an appearance
which satisfies us, search of coincidence between wanted image of oneself and perceived im-
age of oneself, respect (this term was highly recurrent) of others or rather aesthetic standards,
the reasons invoked reflect how aesthetics practices are used by women as a rational, relational,
social tool, and although described as subjective pleasures; both aspects echoing. In any event,
the priority is (obviously) always given to oneself, to one’s uniqueness, to one’s own tastes,
desires, constraints. Women’s respondents affirm this hierarchy of the aesthetics care’s goals;
the self’s well-being must prevail, or at least the look of others must be at its service. In other
words, as Anaïs, 27 y.o, points out, the mechanics is to “see yourself through other’s eyes”. The
use of “well-being” as an argument is therefore chronic, but it relies almost systematically on
others; and behind this idea of “well-being” lies above all a quest for recognition. Indeed, “dress,
because it may be seen in social encounters before conversation can be initiated, has a certain
priority over discourse in the establishing of identity” and at the same time announce social
positions (Roach-Higgins and al. 1995: 12).
I think that the first reason is oneself, it is to please oneself, that I think is the first reason. And after that it’s
also giving an image, according to its status, in relation to its job, to the people around ... After that it can be
to please too, here I think that there is first of all the self and then we think of others. (Deborah, 38, +SC)
Far from feminist ideals, the gaze - especially of men but also of women - is commented
on, sought after. In consonance with a quote of the poet John Berger: “women see themselves as
observed”- (Rocamora 2007: 117). This idea, according to which the feminine identity in the
public space is “watched”, echoes strongly our empirical data. In the background, behind this
attention in the eyes of others, there is thus a “challenge in seduction” as expressed by one of
our interviewees in her own words. “Well-being” can therefore be described as “functional” for
many women met; it describes the feeling of being at ease with his “self-confident” appearance,
especially in the context of interaction with others. “The self-image is not built in the only face-
to-face with the mirror but under the gaze of others. [...] From near and far, they send us daily
messages. Which are so many judgments, often discreet but cruel. The mirror only sanctions
8 This actual aesthetic paradox alternating benevolence for oneself and respect of collective norms for others,
was analyzed by researchers through the media discourse, and more particularly through “women’s magazines”,
which have been experts in justifying aesthetic asceticism in order to increase autonomy and freedom of identity’s
expression (Giet 2005). “The gender press calls for self-realization, but, openly or underground, the body is first
and foremost the privileged mode of access to others. [...] Implicitly, (magazines) justify all the efforts proposed to
female readers, who are finally called to parry and work their body only to seduce the other “(Ibid.: 139-140). In
this quote, authors wrote about “female readers” and not “readers” because this attention to the gaze of others - if
it also concerns men - seems more “verbalizable” for women.
Femininity and Fashion 65
what one has thought to hear and understand and that one seeks to decipher in one’s reflection
“ (Kaufmann 2013: 15).
In order to be “self-confident”, our respondents mentioned many times a specific impera-
tive: to respect a “minimum level of femininity”. In other words, the goal of these women is to “to
get the privilege that able-bodied women take for granted” (Brennan 2011: 126). Behind this
idea, we find the two normative aspects relating to the feminine appearance: unavoidable and
monitored. In the words of the women met, these two dimensions are omnipresent. To respect
a minimum level of femininity is, first of all, to show a dressed body in accordance with what
is “expected” of a woman to be perceived as a woman, not to “jostle” the social order (Roach-
Higgins and al. 1995). Some excerpts from our interviews are therefore quite striking since
we can perceive how the choice to support the constraints of the role of aesthetic femininity
is thus crossed by the issue of “predictability in social life” inherent in the notion social role
(Martuccelli 2002: 144).
It’s a masquerade and I’d like to tell myself that I can be me by being natural. And at the same time, I know
that if I’m natural, I’m not considered a woman at 100%, and it annoys me, so I change sides but not in the
painful aspects. I do not see why we should suffer. I have a girlfriend who made me try her heels 12 centi-
meters high, and I fell (laughs). (Cathy, 40, MSC)
If multiple models of femininity exist, there would be a minimal “base” to be respected,
according to our respondents. Obviously, this “minimum level” has not exactly the same defini-
tion according to all women, and some “minimums” could frighten others. The key point here
is the importance of this singular imposition. It is as if there was no choice, as if femininity
implied a form of minimum requirement at all times. Admittedly, it is possible not to answer
all the injunctions about self-care, however, a limit must not be crossed, the total absence of
“proofs” of an aesthetic femininity sounds as highly discreditable in the mouths of our women
respondents. It is for this reason that many of them declare themselves “still feminine”, even if
they distance themselves from ascetic constraints. De facto, dress practices are most often ex-
perienced through the prism of “assiduity to one’s body” (Remaury 2000: 159) imposing rigor.
For sure, some aesthetic practices are more appreciated than others, nevertheless, meanwhile
the “pleasure” associated is mentioned regularly, we can see, in the discourses, how aesthetics
firmness obligations is significant. The vocabulary used - “being presentable”, “being well phy-
sically” - thus reveals this imponderability. For the women we met, this omnipresent control
answers to several functions. First, there is a desire to show one’s ability to take care of oneself.
After years of socialization to the femininity standards, it would be appropriate to be “fit” to be
feminine, to be regarded “as a woman”. By the way, a feminine woman is a woman from whom
one can perceive the aesthetic “effort”. Also, even those who overwhelmingly reject legitimate
standards of beauty say that it is not “so complicated” to be feminine. Today, “the ugly woman is
no longer so guilty of having committed a fault, but of being what she gives to see of herself”
recalls Claudine Sagaert (Sagaert 2015).
I think you can be presentable and feel good without spending an hour in the morning in your bathroom.
You can now, with a few products, a little mascara and presto, it’s enough you can leave home, simply. [...]
Femininity at the base… everyone can arrange themselves, a small cup, you have long hair, you can cut, to
have something more fun... a little pencil, everyone can do it. (Sandrine, 35, +SC)
If this idea of “minimum level of femininity” illustrates the strength of the norm of aesthetic
effort to which women are socialized, it also reveals how dressing choices of women are sur-
rounded by injunctions restricting their visibility. Indeed, respecting a “minimum level of femi-
66 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
ninity” could also be interpreted as a prescription to control its appearance, be sober, not to be
excessively feminine. As a matter of fact, from adolescence, the dichotomy “good girl” versus
“easy girl” guides the dressing practices of young girls whose body is thought from puberty as
subject to male erotic gaze (Liotard et Jamain-Samson 2011). This life stage marks their entry
into the adult world where gender norms strongly guide social relations; from that time, a so-
cial imaginary is built around a “respectable femininity” that will irrigate their aesthetic paths.
Indeed, it exists a strong aesthetic “misstep” surpassing all others regarding the dressing choices
of a woman, we will name it: “erotic ostentation infraction”. The situation is as follows: on the
one hand, women are held responsible for showing a feminine appearance in accordance with
the beauty standards, thus meeting the expectations of the gaze of others, to “make pleasure”, to
work on their aesthetic sensuality, and, on the other hand, this responsibility can suddenly turn
into guilt if women make the mistake of seducing aesthetically too ostentatiously. The sentence
is then comical: their appearance is in default or in excess of eroticism, the offense is on the
side of women. The vigilance about others discussed above then takes a new turn. It must be
analyzed as inevitable because, in fact, the feminine aesthetic is inevitably the object of “looks
likely to punish”... and women are perfectly aware of it. “Dedicated to seduction, women are
often punished because of it” (Le Breton 2010: 7).
It’s very strong femininity once you come to adolescence, there are many eyes that can turn on you without
your consent. Without you expecting it, and very aggressively. [...] In any case, there are some guys who tell
you that, but not in a nice way, a little aggressive. And so it was both a gift but at the same time a risk too. I
think I have protected myself from this thing, [...] to be beautiful, to please. And at the same time, it was a
bit of a poisoned gift. (Alexia, 31, MSC)
After, if I want to get dressed now, I have no problem, but I do not want, if I dress too well, or if I show off
too much, that I will under an excessive gaze of others. (Sandrine, 35, +SC)
Femininity typology: plural and subjective dressing experiences
More than a stable and continuous stance, be a man or a woman
is a work within femininity and masculinity registers, without
going into patterns, without falling into the clichés. And if there
is a room for maneuver, it is imperative to stay at the controls of
the gender’s gamepad to always remain oneself. (Macé and Rui
2014: 65)
In the second part of this article, we will focus more on the aesthetic trajectories of the re-
spondents and more particularly on the ability of women to achieve deviations from norms and
to take certain liberties with aesthetic and gendered role “expected” from them. In our society,
women “are subject to intense aesthetic exhibition, whether on advertising posters, on screens,
in magazines, in comics” (Nahoum-Grappe 2014: 95), which demonstrates the strength of
corporal’s injunctions devolved on them. Nevertheless, our survey material reveals a certain
heterogeneity in the reception of these models of femininity. “The body is neither an aliena-
tion, nor an instrumentalization, nor a liberation. It is (above all) an experience that marks
our existence and makes for each an embodied self “ (Andrieu 2008: 83). The family history,
the working life, the conjugal and friendly sociabilities, are all elements likely to impact the
body experience of women and impact the “way in which (they) live their (aesthetics gender)
role”(Martucelli 2002: 143). In order to grasp the diversity of these logics through the dressing
practices of women we met, we will propose a typology grouping four positions of women con-
Femininity and Fashion 67
cerning aesthetic norms: “successful femininity”, “ironic”, “default”, and “fleeting” femininity.
The establishment of these four positions is based on the “stylistic” of roles, a concept which
“questions precisely some of the subjective aspects induced by the feeling of a rift between the
individual and social life, when a social role is executed”(Ibid.: 206). Danilo Martuccelli’s con-
cept of roles theory thus leads to the highlighting of four ideal-types built through the use of
two axes: incarnation or distancing to the roles and, capacity (more or less) of the roles to shield
individual from the social life. We will detail for each femininity mentioned above the elements
(identified through the practices and speeches of our respondents) allowing us to position them
in light of this typology.
Successful femininity: hegemonic interiorization
This first ideal-type is “when the individual embodies its roles, which in return give him/
her a strong feeling of relational security” (Martuccelli 2002: 230). Earlier, we were writing
about “the irretrievable distance between what is desired and what is achieved” (Vigarello 2013:
105) to indicate the potential frustration that women may feel when they faced with constrain-
ing aesthetic codes that are difficult to achieve. This category, which we have named “successful
femininity”, brings together, on the contrary, women who feel they master this distance and
these codes. Their perceived image (of themselves) is not dissonant with their dreamed image
and thus, they remove a form of “social prestige” from it. They are heavy consumers of aesthetic
products (clothing and cosmetics) and their way of living in their gender role is marked by
self-confidence - which we can put through for some with a high standard of living (allowing
them to invest a lot in fashion for example without constraints), and for others, with a look
matching with the “legitimate” beauty’s standards (thin morphology in particular) since their
teenage years. Whether it is because of social or body “capital”, women of this ideal-type, create
an intimate link between their feminine aesthetic role and their own interiority. We note they
describe their dressing practices as particularly hedonistic.
Taking care of me is very important. It’s not a war. I have the impression of rather well dose, to do what it
takes to both please me and at the same time return an image of me that is satisfactory. I feel at peace in
my skin, you see, my style is assumed. I do not feel like asking myself 10,000 questions when I have to get
68 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
dressed. So I have a report that is rather healthy. (Virginia, 34, +SC)
While they recognize that this implies some constraints, they prefer to emphasize the cor-
related benefits. Their speeches are marked by the register of emotion, of sensations. They de-
scribe their practices via the semantic field of evidence. In that regard, the excerpt from Sophie’s
interview below is particularly revealing for the reason that she used many times the expression
“five minutes”, thus claiming the short time she needs to prepare herself, allowing her to posi-
tion herself against artificiality ... But not only. Beyond this first analysis, we also understand in
her remarks how the way she takes care about her appearance become for her a part of fun, not
asking any particular effort: “it became something banal”.
Well now it has become a reflex. I feel better. I feel better when I’m well dressed, when I have some makeup.
I feel good. After that, I think it’s back in my life. It’s to spend 5 minutes each morning, to watch what I’m
going to put, it’s become a habit. [...] With time it has become part of my life and I will spend 5 minutes,
5 minutes to put on makeup, 5 minutes to put cream, 5 minutes, that’s all.. It has become something banal.
And I like that. And I would not see myself not doing it. It’s not essential but it’s important for me. I feel
better like this. (Sophie, 30, MSC)
By exemplifying their gender aesthetic role, these respondents seem to “cultivate their in-
teriority” (Martuccelli 2002: 231). They endorse a “stereotype” to which they adhere as they feel
subjectively engaged. The path of Qhuyne is exemplary. After a teenage look under the sign of
rebellion (baggy jeans with holes, hair discolored, rock’n’roll sweatshirts, etc.), which was per-
petuated by this woman at the beginning of her adult life (until the end of her higher learning),
Qhuyne got pregnant with twins and gave up her career ambitions to become a stay-at-home
mom, abandoning at the same time all of her aesthetic practices. However, after a period of
two years in which Qhuyne tells us that she has fallen into a form of depression, she decides
to return to a professional activity and at the same time to an “aesthetic” activity. This is how
she opts for a “working girl” style meticulously respecting the norms of ideal femininity. About
fifteen years later, she recounts this time of her life in these terms: “I found myself”, “It was me”.
Here, the dress practices assume a pivotal role of accompaniment in the identity building of our
respondent who has made the choice to involve herself without limit in an aesthetic role that
she considers in phase with a certain personality and social status.
I was restarting a life in fact. For me, you see, I came into the professional environment, because I stopped 2
years for my children, and having a social life, to have a cross on what I envisioned in terms of research (she
wanted to do a Ph.D), yeah, I thought, now, now you’re a woman, the joke is over (laughs). And then yeah,
when I found this style of dress, I felt myself, and suddenly, that’s it, it’s me, with this thing. [...] I think
that I was so much myself, I found myself, I was so good, I think that it had to be seen, and suddenly, they
said to themselves (my family, my friends), that’s it, there she is, she has found herself. (Qhuyne, 45, MSC)
In addition, these respondents seem to protect themselves through their appearances.
They like to change their dressing style, to surprise their entourage. Their aesthetic gender role
is a screen on which they project several versions of “themselves”. Each situation is studied and
associated with a specific clothing type. It’s about juggling and presenting a worked appearance,
valuing the aesthetic “effort”. From this ability to adapt, they experience pride.
Because I like all styles too, during the weekend, I like to be in jeans- sneakers, and during the week, I mainly
put on dress pants, with a blouse, things like that. It depends on the situations where I go. [...] I also like to
have the impression of being, not several people, but to do as I want. (Linda, 37, -SC)
I actually like, in quotation marks, to take costumes depending on the evening, or the place, if tomorrow
evening, in the evening, I rather want to be sexy or what, here, it will depend on my mood, and I’m going to
Femininity and Fashion 69
dress up. I do not always have the same outfits for all parties with my friends or with my family. (Qhuyne,
45, MSC)
As a summary, we could almost speak here of a “hegemonic (aesthetic) femininity”
(Cogérino et Mansey 2010), as we designate respondents who testify their desire to “look as a
woman”, to construct an appearance in adequacy with the culturally dominant femininity form.
However, we preferred the term “successful femininity” for one main reason; because this term
underlines the feeling of pride felt by women in this category who manage to coincide with the
normative aesthetic model. It is this feeling - a result, among other things, of an internaliza-
tion of the aesthetic role of gender - which distinguishes them from the second profile we will
describe now. This second profile could also refer to the idea of a “hegemonic femininity” if we
stick to the aesthetic practices implemented. However, there is a nuance because of the reflexive
posture of the respondents that we will call “distanced”.
Ironical femininity: hegemonic complicity
Precisely because fashion is at one level a game (although it is
not just a game), it can be played for pleasure. (Wilson 1987:
244)
Women in this category demonstrate a distance from the feminine aesthetic role. They
refuse the constraints they consider excessive. Yet, behind these demands, they are nonetheless
aware of “statutory considerations relating to social roles” (Martuccelli 2002: 231) and don’t
want to become “discreditable” in the public sphere due to a lack of femininity. This is why they
renegotiate in their everyday life the aesthetic standards of gender, making the choice of cer-
tain dress articles and the avoidance of others. During our interviews, their speeches alternate
between the desire for emancipation and the respect for a “normal” line of conduct in terms of
appearance. These respondents, belonging to wealthy classes, insist, for example, on their de-
gree of distance between their interiority and the aesthetic tasks of women at the present time.
Thus, they compare their dressing practices with the ones of “other” women, who, according to
them, are more involved and as consequence more submitted to aesthetics norms.
I’m trying to look good, but now I’m not trying to beautify myself, to be careful like other types of moms.
(Anaïs, 27, +SC)
When you say you look neat, it’s the opposite of what I do, I’m neat when I leave home, but I’m not, I’m not,
at the top, as could be certain girls all the time. As long as I have my clothes clean, that there are no holes
in them, that I feel good about myself. When my hair is done and that my skin is clean, for me I’m neat.
(Sandrine, 35, +SC)
Each woman has her own perspective regarding the aesthetic constraints of femininity.
Alexia tells us that she had begun to wax rather late as a “political act”; Celia and Deborah will
claim their attachment to clothing brands that privilege comfort first and foremost; Anissa will
make it clear that if she likes makeup, she could totally miss out on it. The illustrations are nu-
merous and, on this first part of speech, centered on a distance claimed, is added another one,
based on the quest for compromise. To put it simply, our respondents do not want to be “dis-
70 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
cordant” in the context of their social relations. At the top of the social ladder, aesthetic femi-
ninity is considered as a key for success. It is thus a matter of matching the minimum level of
practices (required by their status) and their personal representation of femininity - stemming
from their family socialization (discourses and maternal practices) or professional (masculine
sector for example). As highlighted by a very revealing vocabulary from Celia, our respondents
opt for “combat suits that adapt to all types of situations.” They don’t want to impose on them-
selves a drastic diet while making sure to stay slim and they want to choose “feminine” clothes
but also comfortable, this is the contract they make with themselves. “Modern identity rests on
the claim of authenticity that leads to criticism of statutory identity, of assigned identities. But
at the same time, as it is impossible to get rid of them definitively, the individual can perform a
trick of magic by disguising that he becomes even more himself. The big difference is that the
mask is either mandatory or freely set” (Singly 2005: 50).
Me, my clothes, in fact, I’m not too fashionable. I like to have lots of clothes but not necessarily super expen-
sive clothes and super trendy. [...] (I want to express the image of) a modern woman, well in her sneakers,
natural, but who takes care of her anyway. To try to transcribe my way of being and also what I want to be.
Try to find a balance on that. (Anaïs, 27, +SC)
I know pretty much what kind of day I’m going to spend. What I’m looking for is to reconcile with a
comfortable outfit for the whole day, and indeed, do not seem too lousy, I try to wear jeans that are clean or
clothes that are rather ironed but I do not adapt specially. It’s a bit of what I call combat suits, which adapt
to any type of situation. (Célia, 36, MSC)
Moreover, these respondents appear particularly attentive to the feminine constraints of
“obstacle”. According to them, the “freedom of movement” leitmotif has to be the main rule
that guides the aesthetics arbitrations and compromises they made. For sure, it is necessary to
give the change, “to be like a woman” - to shield with femininity - to blend in the crowd of the
bodies, nevertheless, these women are not ready for all the sacrifices. They reinvent the mini-
mum level of femininity.
Let’s say, for me, a garment must be useful in addition of being beautiful. […] it must not stop me from
running to take my subway. And for this reason, wearing feminine clothes was difficult for me. Heels keep
you from running, pantyhose cut my stomach, it hurts me. It keeps me from breathing. The bra is too tight.
Well, I’ve always worn bras, but there you go. And then I’m cold with a nice blouse so I’ll put a big sweater.
So, it’s ugly. So it’s difficult to find sweaters that are prominent, heels that are feminine while not having a
lot of ridiculous rhinestones. I’m fine, I’m not a Barbie. (Alexia, 31, MSC)
Here is an aesthetic negotiation because it is a question of visualizing an aesthetic femi-
ninity conciliating what others “expect” to see and what our respondents “agree” to show.
Nevertheless, in this category we called as “ironic”, “the perception of the individual to be in
the world [...] never coincides entirely with that which he/she gives himself/herself to others”
(Martuccelli, 2002: 232). Indeed, the presence of a semantic field of “gaming” in the speeches of
these women is highly significant. Our respondents talk about their appearance care lightly by
emphasizing the playful dimension of their practices. The use of the word “play” multiple times
has a twofold meaning: it is both a question of attenuating the binding character of their care,
but also a way to show they are not fooled and are conscious of the strength of their appearance
in their social relations. “It is therefore in its dimension of project that feminine beauty should
be thought about, by asking the question of the meaning of this activity by which a woman
models her image every day as the prerequisite for her entry into the world” (Froidevaux-
Metterie et Chevrier 2014: 130-131).
Femininity and Fashion 71
It gets a little excitement, a bit, it already breaks the routine, and then we feel like another character that
day. But, anyway, we play really hard on it. For example, I’m not going to dress the same when I’m going to
a client presentation, or when I know I do not have an appointment. I also think that appearance is related
to self-confidence. Self-confidence also comes through appearance. And it is also a very difficult exercise
[...] you have to find the right uniform that day to be both very elegant and at the same time comfortable to
speak in public. (Virginia, 34, +SC)
Femininity by default: to undergo hegemony
This third category includes women who want to respect the legitimate norms of feminin-
ity because this gender aesthetic role represents for them a strong part of their identity. But un-
fortunately, the way they incarnate this gender aesthetic role do not enable them to be shielded
by it in their social life. In other words, these women admire the codes of aesthetic femininity
and desire to implement them with force but their daily life clutter them and do not allow them
to access the desired image of themselves. They are feminine “in default” which triggers their
social malaise. This is particularly the case of Clara and Magalie whose aesthetic body paths
have strong similarities. When they tell us about their aesthetic past, nostalgia seizes them;
they tell us how much they liked themselves, how envious their silhouettes were, how much
they loved juggling with feminine clothes. Then, following their pregnancy, an aesthetic break
occurred, resulting in a deep feeling of shame, of failure. When Clara is asked to describe her
appearance today she will answer us in one word: “nothingness”. However, their attachment to
femininity is infallible and both want to “take control of themselves”; the gap between their real
image and their desired image causes a disarray that they hope temporary, resulting from a
“prioritization” of their mother role.
I’m not the most feminine of Parisian girls, I used to be.., but today for lack of time, and also for envy, follo-
wing pregnancies ... [...]. I have feminine traits, I see that I am a woman, but femininity is more than that.
In absolute terms, it’s an ideal but it’s not my ideal. Well, if I’d like, if I had money all that. But, the reality
is that, I have plenty to manage, and my priority is not that, I prefer to spend time with family. It’s always
the same. But hey we’ll talk again in a year if you want, I would have made my diet (laughs). (Clara, +SC)
To a lesser extent, the relationship of Josiane and Nathalie to their feminine aesthetic role
is also ambivalent. They also have the intimate feeling of not “succeeding” femininity. These
women are admiring the fashion standards without having the capacity (mostly financial) to
implement them.
It is true that when I look at a woman on the street, who is well dressed, who is like that, it is true that it
makes me want to look like her. I say ‘she is beautiful this woman’ and yes it makes you want. And we say to
ourselves, ‘yes, why do not I do it too’, and then I remember, that’s it (laughs). (Josiane, 46, -SC)
It’s not because a product is going to be fashionable that I’m going to run after it. But I admit that I like to
watch the things that are done. [...] First, honestly we do not have a wide clothing budget, it is still seriously
limited, so I don’t do... (Nathalie, 45, -SC)
Their freedom of action is reduced, leading them to a social embarrassment. Not being
able to keep up with the models of femininity disclosed by the media, they imagine themselves
mocked, devalued by the gaze of others. They “experience a major contradiction. Illegitimated
incarnating (their) role, (they) feel moreover as weakly protected by it “(Martuccelli 2002: 234).
72 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
When others are watching me, I feel impressed. I would be able to dress in rags to not attract the eyes of
others (laughs). It’s impressive. It’s what I think, the look of others is intimidating, it often destabilizes me.
[...] For example, when I enter a room and that all eyes are on me, brrrr… But after all, it depends on the
days. If I have a beautiful dress, heels, if I’ve got a beautiful make up, I say to myself it’s good, great, I handle
it, but here it depends on the days, but if you feel in a bad mood, you say to yourself, oh my god, ‘why are
they looking at me, what is wrong?’ So to be neutral, to avoid any look, yes I would be able to be as simple
as possible. But I can’t be without makeup, I can’t. (Josiane, 46, -SC)
Fleeting Femininity: Escaping Hegemony
Fleeting, this adjective well describes the way in which women (in this category) position
themselves regarding aesthetic gender norms. We can portray their dressing practices as an
unstable escape. They want to “experience a distance to the role, (but this distance) destabilizes
them in an intimate way” (Martuccelli 2002: 235). Indeed, if they refuse to perpetuate what
they call a “tyranny” or a feminine “masquerade”, they are nonetheless affected by the conse-
quences of this choice when the eyes of others fall on them. As illustrated by Amelie’s response
when we asked her to position herself on a scale of beauty - “How much would I put myself in?
Uh ... I don’t know. Surely there are things to change (laughs) I don’t know. With the judgments of
others, I would put 6, 5 “ - it is not easy to assume a daily distance from feminine dressing norms
because “the judgment of others” counts.
I wouldn’t say I’m beautiful because I’ve always preferred inner than outer beauty. [...] Everything depends
on the comparison you want, if you compare yourself to a model, you would say ‘oh well it’s dead, I’m at the
bottom of the scale’, but if you compare yourself to ordinary people, there you are, you’d say, well, I’m no wor-
se than another. Whatever, I would position myself lower than above (on a scale of beauty). (Elisa, 33, -SC)
Consequently, these women experience successive phases of pride (to assume a singular
style) and phases of loss of confidence about their appearance (that is discordant in the public
space as their entourage – or even strangers - underline it sometimes). On the one hand, not
giving in “aesthetic effort” of femininity is a pride because for these women, their dressing
practices are more sincere and honest than one’s others. They consider that they are not wear-
ing a “mask”. This desire for transparency about “who they are” is synonymous with audacity
for these women.
I am more authentic [...]. We have days when things are not going well, days when things are going well.
And I think I need these moods, come on my face, on my appearance. (Sarah, 35, MSC)
On the other hand, transparency is not always easy to assume. One of our interviewees
will tell us about their body self-acceptance for example: “I get what I deserve”, a revealing for-
mulation of the (assumed) consequences of her distance to the aesthetics gender norms. Having
complex, not feeling beautiful, these consequences are considered as the “normal” result of their
particular dress and cosmetic choices. Our respondents explain it to us by laughing: “I do not
find myself beautiful but at the same time I do not do anything for”. Like Lola, who throughout
her interview explains how her aesthetic career is both marked by failed aesthetic tests and a
relatively low body esteem.
When I look myself in a mirror I know I’m not horrible. I’m not ugly, but I think I’m normal, I’m not super
pretty, super cute, I’m full of defects [...]. I tried to put on makeup to do the same as others, in fact, to fit in,
but it’s not me. I am more normal. [...] Of course, I can dress sometimes skirt, skirts not too tight, otherwise
I don’t feel ease, and the next day, I’ll be in wide pants baggy. I don’t really have a particular style. (Lola, 30,
Femininity and Fashion 73
-SC)
Moreover, the respondents we have chosen to group in this category are mostly from
working class people (two are farmers’ daughters, one’s parents are workers and one’s parents
are taxi driver and cooker) and all come from small towns. Although, it is impossible for us to
talk about their relationship to appearance without addressing these family settings that have
strongly contributed to their desire to overcome the aesthetic constraints of femininity, the
financial aspect strongly impregnates their interviews.
Fashion has never attracted me. Maybe it was because I was educated in a family where we did not pay at-
tention to fashion? My mother has never been very feminine either so does this condition? I don’t know [...]
I would say that when it’s your money, you say, well, it’s better for me to have two jeans than only one that is
expensive. I’m not looking at the expense either, if I want to please myself, I’ll do it. But I’m not the person
who will do scrubs, stuff, makeup, jewelry, stuff. (Elisa, -SC)
Conclusion
To conclude this article, we want to underline two dimensions: one methodological, the
other analytical. First, it should be noted that the development of these four women stances
is based on two kind of data, on the one hand the aesthetic practices of the respondents, and
on the other hand, their discourses on them. However, of course, we must indicate the non-
homogeneity of the aesthetic experiences of women we met. Indeed, the normative injunction
to respect feminine aesthetic effort concerns both the bodily supervision (mainly the thinness)
but also the practices of the look (dress and cosmetic choices); and the correlation between
these two items is not certain. It is perfectly conceivable for a woman to be particularly assidu-
ous regarding the control of her weight, without engaging in feminine dressing practices (skirts,
heels, necklines), just as the converse is true. So how did we analyze their way of experience
their gender role through their aesthetic practices? To do this, we chose to focus our attention
on the space between these two types of practices and the feelings of the respondents: does this
gap create tensions in the subjective relationship to oneself or in relation to others? Based on
this question, we can thus establish the following table:
74 CADERNOS DE ARTE E ANTROPOLOGIA
The second point we wish to underline concerns the distribution of social backgrounds
among these four highlighted profiles. Indeed, if the figure of “successful femininity” turns out
to be perfectly transversal, we can observe, on the other hand, that the women who are not
“protected”/ “shielded” (in their social life) by their dressing choices and appearance, essentially
belong to lower classes. Likewise, the women from well-to-do social categories are more likely
than others to adopt a posture of “hegemonic complicity” in their fashion practices. In fact,
“even if every individual has a gendered body, it does not imply that he or she lives it with the
same intensity as another person of the same gender” (Singly 2005: 49) and at this “game” of
the stylistics of aesthetic gender roles, the variable of the social class does not seem neutral.
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Date received: 2018-07-16
Date accepted: 2019-01-28
